• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News Media

Pub where Hugh Grant famously ‘bugged a bugger’ has gone on the market for a bargain-basement £100,000

Journalist-turned-publican Paul McMullan caught in sting by actor at Dover hostelry exposing phone hacking

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
2018-07-30 09:42
in Media, Property
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

A historic pub where Hugh Grant famously ‘bugged a bugger’ has gone on the market for a bargain-basement £100,000.

And the current owner, journalist-turned-publican Paul McMullan, has called on him to make a bid for it.

“It would be the perfect seaside hideaway for him,” he said.

The 18th Century Castle Inn on the seafront of Dover, Kent, was the scene of actor-turned-media-campaigner Hugh’s great journalism coup.

He made a surprise visit to the boozer to see his bete noir McMullan, a former News of the World executive, while wearing a concealed microphone.

Catching the former tabloid hack off guard, Grant secretly taped their conversation during which McMullan admitted to carrying out phone hacking and numerous other tricks during his Fleet Street career.

Grant then wrote an article based on revealing talk for the Spectator magazine in 2011, at the height of the storm about media ethics.

RelatedPosts

Inside Boris and Carrie’s London townhouse – on sale for a whopping £1.6m

Alex Jones to pay compensation to Sandy Hook parents as clip of him learning lawyer accidentally leaked his phone content goes viral

Rachel Parris had best clap back to The Spectator claiming women ruined Mock the Week

Papers: Truss claims there might not be recession but front pages don’t agree

He wrote: “I wanted to hear more about phone hacking and the whole business of tabloid journalism.

“It occurred to me just to interview him straight, as he has, after all, been a whistleblower.

“But then I thought I might possibly get more, and it might be more fun, if I secretly taped him. The bugger bugged, as it were.”

Father-of-four McMullan, 55, has now put the pub on the market after struggling to turn it into a pub/backpackers hostel – and he’s hoping Grant may put in a bid.

He said: “The place must hold some pleasant memories for him. It’s the only place he ever got one over a journalist.

“I will even throw in all the fixtures and fittings, including the backpackers bunk beds, for free.”

Grant developed a grudge against McMullan after falling victim to his tactics when his Ferrari car broke down in Kent.

He was spotted by chance by McMullan who came to his ‘rescue’ and then asked to take some ‘souvenir’ pictures of the star.

Grateful Grant agreed after being reassured the snaps were for McMullan’s pub wall – only for them to appear with a dubious story in various magazines and newspapers.

Former patrons of the pub include The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, seen there during filming.

Sir Cliff Richard, who recently successfully sued the BBC for breaking data protection rules, also used it as his local boozer while recording with The Shadows at a local studio in the sixties.

 

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Laura Kuenssberg says what she really thinks in microphone blunder at Covid briefing

Siberia set to become holiday hotspot due to global warming

‘Not treated as humans’, findings of report into Sports Direct

Tory whip resigns ahead of Brexit vote warning deal leaves UK “perpetually constrained” by EU

London temperatures to SOAR past 30C, as UK set for ‘hottest day of 2022’

Top terror cop fined for leaving secrets in the boot of his car which were stolen

As the violence ends, the guns are drawn

Rees-Mogg claims BBC ‘damaging reputation’ by making ‘left-wing’ hires

John Carpenter’s ‘Utopian Facade’ is an Android’s Nightmare

Jack Monroe’s thread on reality of UK’s cost of living crisis is brutal

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.